Of Beast and Man
by Eivinli
Summary: When Leon S. Kennedy gets a report from a seemingly abandon research lab off the coast of Greenland after a group of military soldiers disappeared, he is sent to investigate. Things begin to turn when he meets someone from his past the thought was dead.


**Summary:** Seven years after Raccoon City was desimated by an atom bomb to save the citizens from the spreading plague, more and more strains of the viral infection keep popping up all over the world. When a coast guard near Greenland gets a distress signal from a remote research facility; will it be to late to stop the spread of the dangerous Veronica T-Virus, or is there something far more heinous happening on the seemingly deserted island?

**A/N:** I do not own any of the Resident Evil Characters from any of the games, movies or shows. I do own any of the OC's I do create in my fiction. I write for pure pleasure, so no stealing.

* * *

**Chapter 1. The Day Raccoon Stood Still**

How long ago has it been now? I don't even know. All I know is, I died that day; on the 29th of September, 1998. I think it was beginning to snow that day, the fog was rolling in and the clouds were thick. It was chill but peaceful. The fog horns began to sound early that morning, the sound of something drastic happening; yet, although there was blaring noise all around them, no one stirred.

It was horrible. Tragic.

It began in the labs, under the city. How it spread outside those impenetrable walls, I could never fathom, but it had and it spread quickly. The first that seemed to fall were not the people, but the authorities. Being the first on scene, they were sure to be the first infecties of the horrid viral infection.

I guess that's how it happened, but my memories are but a fog of their own now.

I think it began to snow then, when the siren finally began to fade, exhausting it's use. The city was quiet, unnaturally so. You know in old westerns when a piece of bramble or tumbleweed blows across a deserted street in an old town? Well, that was how it was; not bramble or tumble weed, but pieces of loose newspaper or lost envelops that would never be delivered.

Sometimes, I cry; just thinking about it. How sad.

I remember waking up on one of the laboratory tables; having just gone through several tests myself. I was groggy and disoriented and everything was a wistful haze about me. I could hear a distant voice, echoing dully in my ears. I couldn't make out the words. Not until later. Not until I realized it wasn't really a person, just a recording.

I realized later what had happened. I think that's the first time I cried.

I remember I met him, I had seen him before at his recruitment ceremony; we had spoken fondly. He had gotten split up with a person who's name I knew, but have forgotten now. His eyes were full of concern, something I had almost forgotten myself and we embraced. It was a feeling of warmth I felt then, I think. I don't know how he got in, but being as skilled as he was, I did not doubt that he would have found a way. He told me he wasn't going to let me out of his sight this time, not even for a moment.

_I promise I will protect you. I promise._

He made me a promise; something I did not know still exisited in the world: trust. I trusted him greatly. I could see he felt he had let them down; being unable to save them. I too felt the same way; the pain was unbearable, but I had to endure. Morale was always something my father told me helped keep a lot of soldiers sane. Anyone who held a position over others, he said, felt that it was they who had to protect them at all costs, and if a general or commanding officer did not show strong morale, then the teams spirit would be lost.

From that time on, my mind comes up blank. I can hear and remember sounds; horrible disgusting sounds. Sounds that terrify me when I sleep. Sounds that make me feel less sane now than when I thought I was sane. I wake up at night over and over while the echoes roll over and over in my head; a recording that will never cease.

Screaming.

Blood curdling screams.

Deaf defying roars of pain.

Crunching bone.

The dripping of blood.

My eyes fly open and I stare around the room, sweat sliding long the side of my temple as I search fleetingly, bleary and disoriented. I try to shift my head to the left, but it wont move and the panic rises even more. I strain my wrists but my arms are bound. Again I look, shifting my eyes left and right and all around me as I try to gather my bearings. I can hear someone speaking from the lower left of my body near my feet, their speech muffled. I steady my breathing, knowing I'm not alone. Just more tests.

Through the muffles I deceifer that the person who is speaking is behind something. Most likely a wall or one-way mirror. A door opens and closes with a strangely muffled clunk and then shoes on tiled floor coming closer. A gloved hand; the kind a doctor would wear. White sleeve; likely a lab coat. A partial blurred face I can see through the haze of my vision; male, short hair, covered by a bandana. The rest of his features are covered by a sanitary mask.

I watch through half closed eyes as he lifts a tube up to his chest and, with his other hand, produces a needle. My mind fogs once again as the solution within hits my blood stream and the clouds roll over ever thicker behind my eye lids. I try again to lift my arm but it is useless. My pupils dilate as the sensation to rip and tear into him takes over. I hear a glutteral growl from somewhere in the room and realize, just as the last of my mind drifts away, that I had made the sound.

**00**

"Run, keep running... "

"I can't, just leave me here, I'm just slowing you down."

"Claire, get up, we have to move, now."

"Why is this happening? I can't keep going, just leave me here, please."

Sirens blarred from far away, ringing and echoing in the still city that resided above the research facility known as the Umbrella Corporation. Many of the two hundred thousand citizens were the unfortaunte victims of a strange viral infection that turned the once loving members of families into groaning and drooling monsters. Those who had survived the ordeal were being quarantined outside city limits to look for possible contamination while the evacuation was still going on. Only a short while ago the government finally issued a code red: destroy the city, the virus, and anyone remaining who was infected.

I stopped and turned, looking back at my companions who had also stopped running as well, one, Claire, a spunky young woman who had been a student at the University of Raccoon City, was now slumped on the floor, the shotgun she had been caring tossed to the side, tears streaking down her face, her reddish brown hair falling out of her elastic.

I returned to her and leaned down; she looked into my eyes and I could see the fear in them, it ran deep and it made her ache with each step. She was being beaten by fatigue and her morale was falling steadily with each tear she shed. I forced a smile and pulled her into an embrace, one that she returned even tighter as I felt the tears begin the soak my shoulder. I looked to our other companion and he nodded to me, his eyes softening at my own and I gave him a weak smile of my own that didn't need to feel forced.

"Claire," I whispered, my voice hoarse yet working. "Claire, listen to me. I need you to be strong, we are almost to the security elevator and then we're out of this dump, I promise. We can make it, but you have to be strong."

She wiped her face and her shoulders slumped in defeat yet her eyes showed new resiliance. She nodded and took a deep breath. I reached out and grabbed the shotgun, handing it back to her but not letting go. I met her eyes one more time and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She gave me another nod and stood on steady legs, her finger sliding around the trigger. She didn't even tremble as she placed the butt of the shotgun against her shoulder and we continued down the hall, cautiously moving forward as quickly as we dared.

Glass suddenly shattered and I heard Claire gasp as a monster came bursting into the hall, turning it's foul face to us. It screamed, a grating sound to all of us as it charged forward, gnashing it's rotten teeth at us, blood and slime dripping down its jouls.

Claire fell back into the wall and let off a wild shot that hit the flickering florescent light above us, sending down a shower of tempered glass. Our male companion stepped in front of me and aligned his pistol and fired, his shot hitting the creature in the cheek. He aligned again and fired, his shot hitting it in the neck. I could see the sweat on his neck and face, the reddness in his eyes that was causing his vision to be inaccurate. He aligned again but this time the creature was on us and it shoved him aside, howling viciously as it barreled towards Claire who was still trying to pick herself up from the floor.

I heard her scream, heard it in my gut, in my own throat. I was suddenly enraged, furious as I watched it barrel towards her. It jumped and I suddenly grew hungry to tear it limb from limb and leapt forward myself. Claire was screaming, he was yelling, I was snarling. It's teeth came inches from Claire's neck as it and I rolled over and over, it's teeth gnashing at me. I landed beneath it and it's foul beath was enough to make me gag. I moved my head to the left just as the shot rang in my right ear, blood and pieces of brain and skull matted the right side of my face.

I shoved the thing off of me and slid out from underneath it, shaking all over yet much calmer than before. Claire was huddled a little ways away, but definitely all right. I looked up and saw his face; a hand held out to me in offering. I took it and stood and he pulled me into an embrace this time. I stiffened at the contact and shakily put my hands around his middle. He finally release me; holding me at arms length and looking me square in the eyes.

"Don't do that again; you're to weak to be fighting right now and we need to get you out of here," he said, his voice steady yet I could feel the worry in his grip, the trembling of his fingers.

"We all need to, I wont stand by and watch my friend get devoured, I must protect her if she can't protect herself right now," I said, standing strong.

"Let's be careful then, and get ourselves to safety."

I nodded and moved to Claire's side, putting a reassuring arm over her shoulders and leading her along with him in front of us, guiding us down the hall, holding his pistol up as he sidled along one wall after another. We turned a final corner and the elevatore came into sight with great relief to us all. I sighed and let my shoulders slump as we made our way towards it, freedom tugging out our hearts.

Claire cried out happily and dove in front of us, mashing the _up_ buttom madly with her index finger. She wiggled from one foot to another, her eyes shimmering with fresh new tears and a small smile tugging the corner of her mouth. Our protector and I stood facing the other way, listening to chase, but heard nothing. We could hear Claire reading off the numbers as the elevator descended towards us.

22 ... 21 ... 20 ... 19 ... 18 ...

Ten more floors to go.

I heard it then, the deep, ominous growling down the hall, hidden in the steam that was blowing from the busted heat and cooling vents. I narrowed my eyes, blindly looking through the obstruction, hoping to catch even just a glimpse.

15 ... 14 ... 13 ... 12 ... 11 ...

Three more floors.

My eyes widened as I heard it's feet suddenly begin pounding the floor, coming at us through a wall of smoke. He was training his gun, but it was a blind attempt to keep us safe as the thundering steps got closer ... closer.

10 ... 9 ...

We saw it lunge through the smoke, it's jaws wide, snarling savagely at us. He took it out with a well trained shot to the skull, his eyes narrowed in deep concetration. It fell heavily in front of us as another came leaping through the steam, it's jaws also wide and another came as well, diving over the body of the other and running full speed.

He picked off one just as the doors dinged open. Claire shot inside and screamed at us to hurry. He shot wildly this time and turnbled into the elevator. I took a step back as the massive dogs poisonous teeth sank into my shoulder and I was brought down with it, my left hand grasping at the dangling threads of its neck, blood soaking my hand and arm. I grunted in pain as I heard Claire scream again as the beast tore at my shoulder, snarling in my ear.

I turned my head to look back at my two companions. Claire was crying, huddled back against the wall of the elevator while he was looking at my in horrifed shock, his hand outstretched, his eyes thick with unshed tears as the doors began to close, cutting myself off from the others. I knew he had obviously looked for the button that held the doors open but the security elevator had none, it was meant for this type of situation and the people who had built this place wanted no one to stop an escape just because of stragglers.

"Leon," I whispered.

"No ... Valena no," he screamed.

With a weak smile in his direction I closed my eyes and let my own tears fall as the doors closed upon us and the elevator began to ascend towards their freedom from this hell. Through thick heavy tears I turned back to the beast tearing at my flesh and let my rage loose. It's body sprayed blood and I roared, jumping to my feet and then slamming down onto my knees, shaky and weak.

_Well done my dear, you have exceeded our expectations in the most profound way. It is to bad you had to be seperated from your ... friends, but I have plans for you, my daugher. _

"Leon," I whispered again, and collapsed into a pool of blood as the final cry of the siren went off in the town of Raccoon City above.

The atom bomb struck with such force that even the distance that had ben mark as safe for the surviving citizens of Raccoon City were rocked with shrapnel as stones and branches and bricks from the surrounding trees and the city fell upon them. The barricades of sandbags began to collapse as people began to cry out for loved ones who were dying in the blast. A mushroom cloud began to rise up from the devestation, the tombstone of the once obliviously happy Raccoon City, a place that now stood still.

TBC.


End file.
